TRIAL BEGINS OVER SCHOOL DISTRICT’S YOGA PROGRAM

Influence of religion will be central to case; Encinitas superintendent defends classes

A trial spurred by some parents who want to suspend a yoga program in the Encinitas Union School District kicked off Monday with a debate not often heard in a courtroom.

“What is religion?” asked San Diego Superior Court Judge John Meyer, who is overseeing the proceedings.

No definitive answer was given Monday, but it was clear that the influence of religion on the district’s yoga program — if any — would be central to the trial.

The elementary district introduced yoga as a physical education pilot program in one of its nine schools in 2011 and expanded it to all campuses in January. Funding came from a $534,000 grant from the KP Jois Foundation.

Dean Broyles, attorney for the plaintiffs and president of the Escondido-based, nonprofit National Center for Law & Policy, said in his opening statement Monday that the foundation is beta-testing the program in Encinitas, with plans to offer it to public schools nationwide.

Broyles also said the early version of the district’s program referred specifically to Ashtanga yoga, a style promoted by the foundation. Reading from a foundation brochure, he said practitioners of Ashthanga yoga claim it can “lead to great awareness of our spiritual potential.” He also described schoolchildren sitting cross-legged in a lotus position, with their arms outstretched, fingers encircled and pinkies extended in what he described as a prayer pose.

Attorney David Peck, who has joined the case on behalf of parents in the group Yoga for Encinitas Students, said in his opening statement that there may have been “missteps” when the curriculum was introduced but what matters now is that all religious references have been removed.

Tim Baird, superintendent of the Encinitas district, took the stand as the first witness and defended the program. When Broyles questioned him about the foundation’s role in the program, Baird said the district’s curriculum is independent and should be called “EUSD Yoga.”

“Are you an expert on how to define religion?” Broyles asked. After Baird said he was not, Broyles questioned how he could define the district’s program as nonreligious.

The second witness, Indiana University professor Candy Brown, gave a complex definition of religion. Most religious scholars agree that the description needs to be broad, she said. Brown testified that religion can be a verbal expression but also can be defined by actions.

While district officials have argued that the yoga practiced in classrooms is as secular as any stretching exercise, Brown wrote in a pretrial declaration that Hindu and Buddhist practices themselves can be expressions of religious devotion.

“In the religious origins of yoga, body and spirit are not separable categories,” she wrote.

Also Monday, Broyles questioned Baird about whether children who opt out of the yoga program are getting the minimum required physical fitness time each week. Baird said students who don’t take yoga have enough alternatives offered through their schools.